In a previous episode, five-year-old Quinn asked why the letter Q is so often followed by the letter U. A new children’s book seems to have been written just for her. Q and U Call It Quits is a funny story about the chaos that ensues for the...
Chris from San Diego, California, asks about climbers’ chossy, meaning rock so crumbly or unsafe that it may break loose under a handhold, foothold, or piece of protective gear. A bad formation may be called a choss pile, and choss up means to wreck...
Goat rope, goat roping, and goat rodeo describe a messy, disorganized situation. Grant wrote about these terms in his book The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “As Disorganized as a...
Vanessa in Dallas wondered about hot mess after her daughter spotted it on a license plate. The Southern expression can describe someone whose life looks chaotic, with dropped balls and missed deadlines, yet who remains likable or attractive. It can...
kaleidic adj.— «Shackle argued that we live in a “kaleidic society, interspersing its moments or intervals of order, assurance and beauty with sudden disintegration and a cascade into a new pattern.”» —“Nobody Expects the...